4 days after her father's death, Tasneem succumbs to dengue

Tasneem who was shifted from Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH) to Nair hospital on Friday was pronounced dead at 7.15 am after developing serious respiratory problems and liver complications due to dengue, said doctors at Nair hospital.

Double tragedy: Tasneem Jafri died due to dengue yesterday, while her father Tariq expired on Wednesday

Her death comes four days after her father Tariq Jafri succumbed to dengue at KDAH on Wednesday. Losing her husband and child has left the mother, Shakila, who was also diagnosed with dengue, in a state of shock. Shakila, who was also undergoing treatment at Nair hospital, was discharged yesterday, as her condition was reported stable by doctors.

Kiran Sindhi, a family friend of the Jafris, said, “We were informed that Tasneem passed away at around 7.15 am by doctors who were treating her. They said that she had died due to liver complications. Shakila is at home, but is in a state of shock. It was merely two days ago that she lost her husband and now her daughter too.”

Dr Sandeep Bavdekar, head of paediatrics department at Nair hospital, said, “The cause of her death was problems with her liver functioning. Dengue had mainly affected her liver, which led to the complications, leading to her death. She also had problems in breathing due to which we had put her on ventilator. Despite our best efforts she did not survive.”

A senior doctor at Nair hospital said, “Tasneem was admitted with petechaie (internal bleeding under the skin) on Friday evening. She had high-grade fever throughout the time she was in the ICU. Although, her platelet count was normal, her liver swelling did not improve since Friday. Early Sunday morning, her condition turned critical and she died.”

Tasneem is the second child of the Jafris, who reside at MHADA colony, Malwani, in Malad (West).

Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar confirmed that Tasneem’s death has brought the dengue death toll to five this year in comparison to three deaths in 2011.

Expertspeak Dr Ashok Rathod, paediatrician, JJ hospital, said, “Treatment of critical cases like Tasneem Jafri’s depends on the severity of the dengue attack. Usually in such cases we perform blood transfusion, as the patients platelet level falls tremendously. It is essential to administer anti-congestion and decongestion medicines continuously to avoid accumulation of water in the chest.” He added, “However, the fluid given can accumulate in the lungs and other organs, if not monitored properly. If the dengue is mild, fluids that get accumulated in the body get removed automatically. But if the condition is critical, doctors have to remove the fluids to avoid congestion.”

According to doctors, if too much fluid is administered to a patient it passes into the lungs, liver and other organs, further complicating the situation. Such patients require lot of oxygen supply and proper ventilation. In smaller clinics, there is a lack of sufficient oxygen cylinders due to which a critical dengue patient cannot be given proper treatment. Hence it is necessary to immediately shift such patients to bigger hospitals that have multi-specialty ICUs.